finland cobalt , page-11

To get the best price possible you need motivated buyers, Xstrata was never a motivated buyer.

They are opportunists at best.

As quoted on a few news wires at the time;

"We've had numerous approaches but been unable to pursue them because of the nature of the agreement with Xstrata that prevented us from dealing on the project," Cowden said.


Also Xstrata views on Copper Pricing is not so rosy;

Xstrata Copper COO Says Production Will Weaken Copper Markets

Capital Market / 13:06 , Jan 21, 2013

Xstrata Copper's chief operating officer has said that overseas production has the potential to weaken copper markets later this year. Analysts are optimistic overseas demand will help keep the price of copper stable. However, Xstrata's Steve de Kruijff said an increase in production could cause prices to fall by the end of the year.

"So that means there will be more growth in the copper market which can then, if you've got more product coming in then that can reduce the copper price," he said. "So we're still quietly optimistic that the first 6 months of this year will be positive, but going further into 2013 we're not so optimistic."

http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Xstrata-Copper-COO-Says-Production-Will-Weaken-Copper-Markets/4683527156